The invention is related to a cover construction for an open top railroad car. The cover has lifting structure such that it can be removed from a rail car by either a front end loader, or a rear or back loader.
Open-top rail cars, such as gondola cars, hoppers and grain cars are employed to transport waste, coal, grain and similar materials that may tend to blow out of the car. A cover is commonly mounted on the open top to contain the car's contents.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,792 which was issued Aug. 27, 1974 to Fred W. Waterman et al. for "Railroad Car Construction" illustrates apparatus for raising a hinged cover from a moving rail car.
covers of some rail cars are constructed to permit various lifting devices to either remove or mount the cover on a stationary car. For example, an eye is commonly attached to the center of the cover so that a crane having a hook can engage the eye and raise or lower the cover. Some covers have a pair of side openings which receive the prongs of a fork lift truck which remove the cover from the rail car.
However, such apparatus is not readily available at some locations where the rail cars are loaded. For example, when the rail car is employed to transport contaminated soil or other waste, the available equipment may be a front end loader or a back loader which removes the waste from the ground. Fabricated hooks have been mounted along the side edges of the cover for receiving the front lip of a front end loader bucket. The lip of the bucket is inserted into two or three spaced hooks and the bucket then raised to lift the cover.
Where the lip has several metal teeth, the teeth tend to damage the hooks and the cover.